Nationwide vs Charbidys

[Charbydis]

After years of wating I finally reached the end of my tether. Nationwide have extracted £1800 in bank charges but I was reluctant to ask for them back due to my difficulty in finding an alternative bank account(the account with Nationwide has no overdraft at all, no cheque book and and no debit card - doesn't stop them charging for an unauthorised overdraft though!!). However things just got worse, my wife has moved out with the kids saying she can't take any more due to financial stres we're under. We are on a debt management plan and are having difficulty making ends meet. I wrote to Nationwide explaining this and they sent me a form to fill in explaining why I was in hardship and asking for a budget breakdown. I can but hope.

[Guest wino]

I really feel for you Charbydis.

Millions of people are suffering with the stress of debt whether it is healthwise or relationshipwise.

Has the company providing the debt management plan actually checked to see if the debts are enforcable and that there are no hidden extra charges, PPIs etc?

[Charbydis]

Latest news they wrote back saying they don't think I am in hardship and will not pay my charges back. They also suggested contacting the CCS if I am having debt problems and gave me a leaflet about five ways to avoid bank charges. No 5 is ask for an overdraft!!

I replied with more details of financial hardship and pointing out I am in a debit managment plan and what is the point of asking for an overdraft when the facility doesn't exist on my account!!

[Charbydis]

By the way PayPlan have done nothing other than try and sell me insurance. They don't seem to care about enforceability or ppi and such.

[Charbydis]

Latest developments: Nationwide replied saying I have understated my income and am therefore not in hardship. Odd since I took the figure straight off my payslip. Furthermore I got my statement today and they refused a direct debit as it would make me 62p overdrawn, for this they will charge me 30 plus 20 for being overdrawn last month due to their charges.

I will be writing to the Financial ombudsman to see if they can do anything!

I am not hopeful.

[Charbydis]

Another ray of hope extinguished, I applied for a bank account with NatWest and was hopeful having supplied all the necessary info. I phoned today as I had heard nothing and was told I had been declined after all. So I am stuck with Nationwide whose branch is in the most inconvenient place from where I live. Even more annoying is that my wife who has no income as such can have an account with them. I despair!

[spark911]

Another ray of hope extinguished, I applied for a bank account with NatWest and was hopeful having supplied all the necessary info. I phoned today as I had heard nothing and was told I had been declined after all. So I am stuck with Nationwide whose branch is in the most inconvenient place from where I live. Even more annoying is that my wife who has no income as such can have an account with them. I despair!

Have you tried all banks?

 

How about Halifax or LLoyds (who are the same group of companies)? Also, what features do you need and what account are you applying for? Perhaps apply for just a basic bank account?

[Charbydis]

I have just received another letter from Nationwide. They have reconsidered and decided to refund £60 as these they agree are extortionate. Oh I am so grateful!!!

[mills1]

Another ray of hope extinguished, I applied for a bank account with NatWest and was hopeful having supplied all the necessary info. I phoned today as I had heard nothing and was told I had been declined after all. So I am stuck with Nationwide whose branch is in the most inconvenient place from where I live. Even more annoying is that my wife who has no income as such can have an account with them. I despair!

 

 

Just spotted this.

I thought that in the last budget the Government were going to make a basic bank account available for everyone regardless of credit history?

I am sure I saw Martin Lewis touting this on GMTV.

He explained that previously a bank account application would go through credit scoring, but that the government wanted to make a basic bank account the right of everyone.

Confused sorry

[The Lawyer]

I have a basic bank account with Nationwide. I have no overdraft, no cheque book and no debit card. I have never gone overdrawn on the account. Between September 2008 and May 2010 I had £960 in charges for unpaid direct debits.

 

They consistently rely on the Supremem Court judgment in the "overdraft bank charges" case - and even state on their website that the case relates to overdrafts.

 

I have argued that as I have no overdraft nor gone overdrawn ever, that they cannot rely on a case about overdrafts in relation to an account with no overdraft.

 

They ignored my arguments. I have issued at County Court for £1047 plus costs and am awaiting to find out if they will defend.

 

As far as I am concerned, no services have been provided, the T&Cs refer to "additional administration costs" of which there are none, Nationwide has suffered no loss and the charges are punitive as they are a penalty - I have a barrister freind who is happy to represent me at Court as well.

 

I really dont see how they (or any lender) can be allowed to do this. Basically telling Company A - "we wont pay the direct debit" and then charging £30 to me - especially when the system is automated . I am confident that I will recover the full amount, but the fact that they wont listen and are happy to wait for court proceedings is unacceptable.

 

The truth is that all banks are doing the same thing to everyone. They wont listen, they dont care. They just want to take as much money off everyone as possible - which they do upfront - and pay back as little as possillbe - which they do months/years later (in the hope that people will give up).

 

Until people start collectively shifting away from banks and opting for alternative solutions the banks will continue to do this and profit from it, at our expense. This is a disgrace, but its the way the world works. Only by standing firm and having patience can we recover money from them - but by then they have levered that money and made 10 times as much from it anyway, so they cant loose!

 

I also had trouble switching to Natwest, and was declined. There was talk of a right to a bank account, but until it happens we are stuck with Nationwide. By the way, as an account holder you are a shareholder with membership rights in Nationwide, so it may be worth considering looking at what those rights actually are, and the general duties a company owes to its shareholders, as there may be something in there that can help your cause.

[Charbydis]

Update: Ombudsman rejected complaint surprise surprise! but now nationwide are charging £10 to issue a cheque even though I don't have a cheque book and they won't issue me with one. This is a problem for me as I am trying to pay off a car insurance claim with tesco in installments and they don't accept credit or debit cards.

Basically they have found another way to penalise people like me!

[Feebee_71]

Update: Ombudsman rejected complaint surprise surprise! but now nationwide are charging £10 to issue a cheque even though I don't have a cheque book and they won't issue me with one. This is a problem for me as I am trying to pay off a car insurance claim with tesco in installments and they don't accept credit or debit cards.

Basically they have found another way to penalise people like me!

 

Charbydis,

 

I found out about this recently when I went in to draw 3 counter drafts worth £17 when combined which were to pay for some purchases. When I asked for the 3 drafts I was told each one would cost me £10 and I put a complaint in - I did the same when they removed the 'print cheque' facility from the in branch machines. I haven't even received an acknowledgement to the letter I sent in.

 

What I did learn though (and the reason for adding this post) if you go into the post office you can ask for a crossed postal order and it acts exactly like a cheque except you do have to pay a small fee - in my case the fee was £1 per postal order - rather more acceptable and more likely somewhat akin to the actual charges for producing the postal order!! - also, unlike a Nationwide counter draft, if it is returned to you for whatever reason, then (from what I understand) you can get the postal order refunded!!

 

Good luck with this - and finding a new bank account. I think I might be about to do the same thing since Nationwide withdrew the free international withdrawals facility from their flex accounts and since they have decided they are going to send every customer with a basic flex account card a new 'Solo' card for their account.

 

Feebee_71

[Charbydis]

I moved accounts eventually but Nationwide insisted on levying charges on the old account for an unauthorised overdraft. One stroppy letter later I got them to remove these charges and they said they wouldn't apply anymore. Two months later they have started applying them again! I have now had enough and am going to try and reclaim all the charges on this account using the BCOBS route. Am I right in thinking though that I can only claim back those charges that were applied after this came into force?